The Best Wireless Airbuds for Everyday Commuting

Block out unwanted noise on your commute with these earbuds.

Commuting to and from work can be a hassle, especially with all of the noise you’re exposed to. As with any other smart commuter, you probably have a pair of headphones that always accompany you along the ride, but which are the best? Sure, the big and bold headphones like the Sony 1000MX3 or Bose QC 35 IIs are the best quality, but they can also make you a target for thieves if you’re on a bus or train. The most simple and increasingly more popular option is wireless earbuds — They’re not usually as expensive as high quality over the earbuds and they’re compact, making them easy to stow away. Here are some of the best earbuds you can get for everyday commuting.

Apple Airpods

Apple AirPods

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Apple’s Airpods may not have been the first, but like so many of its other products, they’re some of the best. The recently updated pair of buds ship with a new chip that enables hand-free Siri activation, slightly better talk time, and improved sound quality. There’s also a new wireless charging case that you can purchase separately if you’re rocking the older pair of AirPods.

While there’s officially no mention of water-resistance of Apple’s AirPods, user “tests” seem to show that they can more than withstand a bit of water and other fluids.

While the latest iteration of the AirPods is exactly that — iterative — they certainly help Apple keep it’s lead in mindshare, as it’s always been able to do well.

If you’ve been in the market for wireless earbuds of any kind, it wouldn’t be surprising if you saw Jabra’s Elite 65t earbuds pop up more than once and that’s for a good reason. They’re simply some of the best earbuds you can get.

With a 5-hour battery life and 15 hours with the charging case, the Elite 65t’s will be more than capable of getting you through your commute. Not only that, but these water-resistant earbuds are perfect for gym sessions as well, with an IP56 rating. As with many wireless earbuds, Jabra offers a companion app with a customizable equalizer.

The Galaxy Buds aren’t the first wireless Bluetooth earbuds from Samsung, but they’re certainly the best. Drawing inspiration from its previous offerings like the IconX, that’s about the only thing that’s stuck in the past. These earbuds last for 6 hours on a single charge and its charging case adds an additional 7 hours of playback time. Speaking of the case, it has built-in wireless charging, which is perfect if you also have a Galaxy S10, as you can charge the case simply by placing it on the back of the phone.

Tuned by AKG, the sound of the Galaxy Buds are balanced, and you can adjust incoming environmental noise with Ambient Mode. The splashproof buds will also get you through an intense workout after you’ve made your afternoon commute and all on a single charge.

While the Sony WF-SP700N is primarily focused on sports activities, they made a fantastic pair of buds for commuting. Unlike most wireless earbuds available, these buds offer digital noise canceling in addition to the noise isolation from the seal earbud itself creates. This will likely be a very welcome addition for those who have a noisy commute.

The sports-focused earbuds are splashproof, so they’re good for the gym but not for the pool. The less than stellar aspect of the headphones is that a single charge offers a mere three hours of playback. You may be able to stretch this a bit if you’re not using noise-canceling, but even then, that’s still under the industry standard. That said, its charging case will give you an additional two charges.